Bahrain revokes citizenship of top Shiite cleric

[September 20, 2010]  BAGHDAD (AP) -- Bahrain stripped a powerful Shiite cleric with close ties to Iraq of his citizenship as authorities Monday widened a crackdown against alleged dissidents ahead of next month's elections in the tiny Gulf nation.

The move against Ayatollah Hussein al-Najati -- the Bahraini representative of Iraq's most powerful Shiite figure -- shows the increasingly hard line by the island kingdom's Sunni leadership against the majority Shiites, who have religious and cultural ties to both Iraq and Iran.

A wave of arrests in Bahrain since August have touched off street clashes and demonstrations across the country, which is home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. But so far there have been few major ripples throughout the region -- where Sunni-led government across the Gulf express growing worry about expanding Shiite influence from Iran.

Now the attempt the put al-Najati into political exile could draw in Iraq's influential Shiite religious leaders and the political groups that dominate government. Al-Najati is the Bahrain representative for Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the country's most influential Shiite political cleric.

Pulling the citizenship could set the stage for the eventual expulsion of al-Najati and his family, but its immediate effect appears to be as a warning message to other Shiite clerics seeking to speak out against the state. There was no immediate comment from al-Najati or al-Sistani's office in Iraq.

But Shiite authorities in the Middle East certainly are closely watching Bahrain's tactics against suspected Shiite opposition groups ahead of parliamentary elections on Oct. 23.

Sunni governments across the region supporting Bahrain's ruling dynasty and its escalating pressure on the 70 percent Shiite majority could risk a backlash from the Shiite leaders in Iran and Iraq.

It also throws into question whether Bahrain will remain committed to the political opening that began a decade ago and has been seen as the main democratic experiment in the Gulf.

More than 250 Shiites have been detained since mid-August and Bahrain has accused 23 political activists and others of plotting to overthrow the government. Last week, Bahrain closed the semi-independent Human Rights Society and replaced the board with people chosen by the leadership.

On Monday, security officials announced the arrests of four people accused of setting tires ablaze and throwing firebombs during riots earlier this month. The detentions come at the same time as renewed pressure on Shiite clerics with the king last month ordering authorities to closely watch religious forums.

"This is the worst crackdown on human rights," said Mohammed al-Tajer, the lawyer representing 15 of the 23 coup suspects. "We are all banned from talking about the events of the last few weeks, but I can't keep quiet about these violations."

Al-Najati is one of Bahrain's leading Shiite scholars and -- like his mentor al-Sistani in Iraq -- his voice carries great weight in political affairs. He has spoken out about the crackdowns, but any direct role in the unrest is not clear.

An Interior Ministry statement issued in Bahrain's capital, Manama, said the passports for al-Najati, his wife and three children were revoked because their Bahraini nationality was not obtained "through the appropriate legal means."

Bahraini officials have not elaborated, but it appears that al-Najati and his family would revert to the "stateless" status that confronted many Bahraini Shiites before political reforms a decade ago. Stateless citizens in Bahrain can travel on special permits similar to those granted Palestinians living around the Middle East, but they cannot vote and do not receive state assistance such as housing aid.

Al-Najati was born in Bahrain and did religious studies in Iraq and Iran. He and his family obtained Bahraini nationality in 2001 under political reforms by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa -- who also opened the way for parliamentary elections.

But there are signals that Bahrain's leaders now feel under attack and are ready to use all means to strike back at perceived threats.

King Hamad told a cabinet meeting Sunday that Bahrain would not be a "spring board" for unrest in the region and called on citizens and authorities to unite in "fighting terrorism so that Bahrain be safe and secured," Kuwait's official news agency KUNA reported.

Just hours before the decision on al-Najati, Bahraini officials reportedly issued a two-week ban on sermons by another prominent Shiite cleric, Sheik Abdul Jaleel al-Miqdad, who has denounced the arrests against Shiites.

Bahrain's Shiites have long complained of discrimination in state jobs and housing and claim they are barred from influential posts in the security forces.

Bahrain, with about 530,000 nationals on an island smaller than New York City, was once an international business hub for the Gulf, but that role has been mostly eclipsed by Dubai and Qatar's capital, Doha, in the past decade.

Instead, Bahrain has banked on its strategic role as the center for U.S. Naval operations in the region.

Bahrain maintains good ties with Iran despite the underlying tensions with Shiites.

Kuwait, meanwhile, has more open about decrying Iranian influence.

In August, Kuwait indicted seven people, including a Kuwaiti soldier and an Iranian woman, on charges of spying for Iran. Tehran denied the charges.

Kuwait, which has its own Sunni-Shiite tensions, has now banned large demonstrations and meetings dealing with sectarian topics.

Kuwait's Defense Minister Sheik Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah -- who is also acting prime minister -- claimed Sunday there are groups seeking to "drag us into hateful strife" and exploit a "fragility in the society which we must avert as much as possible," state agency KUNA reported.

[Associated Press; By BRIAN MURPHY]

Associated Press writer Hadeel al-Shalchi in Cairo contributed to this report.

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